Modell Pawn Plans to Build 15-Story Apartment Building in Place of Kips Bay Shop

KIPS BAY, NY — Modell Pawn in Kips Bay may be making way for a new apartment building, according to city records.

Plans for the new building were filed on Monday for the pawnbroker at 139 E. 23rd St., one of three Manhattan locations. New York YIMBY was first to report the plans were filed.

According to plans, the building would officially be a mixed-use development, with retail on the first floor and apartments on floors 2 through 15. The owner of the building on the application is still listed as Eric Modell, so it's entirely possible the Kips Bay Modell Pawn could return to the address, and get an upgrade. The application is for a new building, meaning the old one will be torn down.

When reached by Patch, the owners of Modell Pawn said they had no comment on the building applications. An employee at Gramercy Fertility Services, a fertility clinic on the second floor of the building, was unaware of any change. They have been at the location since 2008.

Zoning approval is still pending.

As for the apartment plans, there would be 13 residences in the building with one each on floors 2 through 13 and then a duplex on floors 14 and 15.

According to city records, Gerald Modell, Eric's father, bought the property at 139 E. 23rd St. in 1993. The Modell business was formed in 1893 in a shop at 79 Cortlandt Street in the Financial District near the present day Century 21 location. They also have Manhattan locations at 21 W. 47th Street in Midtown and 169 E. 116th St. in Harlem.

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